The Time for Civility is Over

I cannot remember the last day that passed without news of American leaders doing something that isn’t in the best interests of the country’s citizens or its democracy. These are unprecedented times, regardless of which political party a person belongs to.

I’ve said before that taking a side in American politics is a lot like having a favorite sports team. Most people will remain loyal to their team come hell or high water and while that’s a noble goal when it comes to sports, the same does not hold true for loyalty to political parties.

At some point, we all need to take stock of the ideals we stand by and the ideals of the people we stand behind.

Two years ago, I could (sort of) buy the argument that people are not who they voted for because at least some of them were blissfully unaware of what would follow. They wanted “change,” they wanted a guy who “tells it like it is,” and for some… well, they wanted a guy that gave them permission to be openly racist after feeling stifled for so long.

But then… time passed.

The president mocked a prisoner of one war and mocked a family who lost a child in a different war; his followers were fine with it – which I thought was especially strange given their borderline cult-like support for the military and their precious fucking flag. The president mocked a disabled reporter and they were cool with that, too. Most recently, however, the president openly mocked a woman who was brave enough to testify about her sexual assault and STILL… his followers are fine with it. In fact, they laughed and cheered him on.

On top of those few out of hundreds of shining examples of completely unpresidential behavior, the president and his cronies raced to confirm an unqualified man to the Supreme Court – one they know will vote exactly the way they want him to – largely because of the impending court decision on Gamble v. the United States. This court case is of particular interest to all of them because of its potential protection from prosecution and subsequent criminal convictions. Basically, the decision is about double jeopardy and the dual-sovereign loophole: since a ruling in 1847, the state governments and federal governments have been treated as separate entities, each with their own jurisdictions, although those jurisdictions occasionally do overlap.

If Gamble wins his case in court, the federal and state government will not be able to prosecute a person for the same crime. “What does that have to do with anything,” you wonder. If a person is prosecuted and convicted at the federal level and the president pardons that person, they cannot be prosecuted by the state for the same crime, even if that crime also violates a state law.

This can mean anything from tax fraud to election tampering, collusion, or any other shady business dealings that may come to light in the future. The real problem here is that the president can pardon not only those who have already been found guilty or pleaded guilty on federal charges, but he can choose to pardon someone as a preemptive measure before federal charges are even filed in order to halt their potential prosecution.

With Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, those in power stand to obtain a limitless “Get Out Of Jail Free” card when the vote on Gamble v. the United States finally goes down. If (or when) it lands in their favor, they will be able to do what they want, get pardoned by their pussy-grabbing buddy if they get caught, and they will never face any kind of criminal punishment whatsoever. It’s total bullshit, but this is where we are now.

In addition to the potential (and if I’m being honest, inevitable) overturning of Roe v. Wade, Kavanaugh’s confirmation was also about putting the president above accountability and above the law. It is well known that Kavanaugh feels a sitting president shouldn’t be investigated or indicted – for anything. Hell… it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if these people tried to get rid of presidential term limits or the entire election process altogether. Whatever it takes to keep them in a seat of power, right? Why else would the GOP disregard the testimony and statements from women who stepped forward about their sexual assault accusations, disregard anything from the forcibly-limited FBI investigation, disregard the fact that Kavanaugh lied under oath – repeatedly – to put his sorry ass in that precious lifetime seat? Do you think for one second that they would have treated a democratic-leaning judge the same way?

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by anything anymore. These are the same people who stonewalled a president for eight years because he stood with the opposite party, and blocked that same president’s supreme court pick for nearly 300 days just so they could get their way.

They only care about what forwards their own agendas – not you, not me, not the people of this country. (Not even the republican ones. Sorry you guys… they don’t give a shit about you and I wish you’d wake up and fucking see it already.)

Maybe people are not who they voted for. But they absolutely are who they stand behind.

I really don’t care what political party a person “belongs” to, but any person who can honestly say that they tolerate and accept this president’s behavior, his words, his actions, his mocking, his ridicule, or that they SUPPORT him in spite of those things… well, it says more about you than you realize.

One cannot be a “good” person and stand with or behind such a terrible one. They just can’t. At this point, it is not about politics. It is not about republicans versus democrats – that ship has long since sailed. It’s about morality, common decency, and common fucking sense.

That harsh truth will surely fall on plenty of deaf ears – at least for those who have no interest in seeing things as they actually are. But if one person reads these words and begins to think, to question what they really believe, or to question their own moral compass, writing them will have been worth the effort.

When I look at what this country has become, I want to scream. One long, endless scream that could shatter the entire universe and everything in it if I could reach just the right pitch. And that’s what it’s going to take, you know. Millions of us, screaming the same battle cry.

Because sometimes you have to fight. You have to find yourself being pushed harder and farther than you’ve ever been pushed. You have to get angry, to embrace the blinding white-hot rage that courses through your veins and sets your soul on fire.

And you have to fucking fight.

Not all that long ago, women were not given the right to vote. It’s something the women of that time had to fight like hell for. They did it for themselves but, more importantly, they did it for US. They did it for the future of all women in the United States for generations to come.

The time is now, my raging bitches.

This is a call to arms and you’re being summoned to stand for the future of our children and our country. We can no longer be nice about it. We can no longer be tolerant of intolerance, misogyny, or inequality. We have to rise up and fight. We cannot allow ourselves to go gently into that good night because there is nothing good about the impending nightfall.

Stand up for what you believe in. Speak up. Speak out. Take part in protests. Write to your senators, your representatives, your congressmen, and to the public at large. And for the love of all that is sacred to you, get out there and vote on November 6th. Vote as if your lives depend upon it – because they do.

To the members of the GOP: congratulations and I hope you’re ready for what you have wrought. This is war, motherfuckers.

A lover of lapsang souchong tea, unnaturally-colored hair, and Oxford commas, Alison’s stories are written with a signature blend of humor and brutal honesty. She often jokes that she became a writer so she could speak to the masses without actually having to TALK to them face to face, but words are indeed her greatest strength. She revels in weaving them together to tell an entertaining story, rouse laughter, offer reassurance, provide sympathy, or just to give the world a piece of her mind.